Hi knitting community! I heart you too.

I run into an interesting phenomenon when I show people my sockapalooza socks or mention in passing something about “my sock pal.” Non-knitters are fascinated by the concept, and it often takes me several minutes to describe how the whole system works, and what sort of things you should do to be a good sock pal (or whatever). They ask me questions like, “But why would someone you don’t know do that for you?” or “That’s a lot of work to do for someone you don’t even know. Are you sure someone else is really making socks for you? What if they flake out?” I then tell them about the system that’s in place in case someone does flake out, and the philosophy behind swapping, and the non-knitter says, “Oh, okay,” in that sort of knowing way, as if to say “let’s allow her to live in her fantasy world.” Of course, this isn’t the case with every non-knitter I meet, quite the contrary. But those who react in the above fashion intrigue me. When I went to my LYS to pick up extra stuff for my sock pal, all I had to say to a knitter was “Oh, I’m buying this for my sock pal,” and not only does that person know exactly what I’m talking about, but they often tell their own stories about doing swaps, or wish me luck, or help me decide what to get for this person I’ve never met.

I’ve belonged to a community before, but never one that is this active, fierce, 0r (sorry) close-knit. Being a gamer is similar, truthfully, but there are so many different games that it’s hard to feel like a part of something, sometimes. But with knitting, it’s really quite impressive. People on ravelry have friended me (and I them) who never would know me in real life because we run in different circles, and some of these friends also are my polar opposite in views, religion, and tastes. But, I am a knitter, and so are they, so we are friends. There’s something beautiful about that sort of unconditional support and acceptance. It’s a basic human need that often never gets met.

I also like getting hand-knit socks. 🙂

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3 Responses to “Hi knitting community! I heart you too.”

I totally agree – the knitting community is awesome. And it is a community! Virtually everyone is nice and supportive and happy to share their knowledge. It’s so warm, and cozy, and soft… just like yarn.

Thank you!! I am the sock pal referred to in your post and I just received them last night. I’ve been out of town (at a conference all last week) and my mail hold was just released. I love the color (the green of new grass, fresh sprouts, young moss) and the fit is fantastic. I will blog about them, but I’m in the last stages of defending my PhD, so it will be a while. Thank you!

Congratulations on the recent ‘I do’ and enjoy the gaming convention. I, too, am a big gamer (love San Juan, Settlers, Carcassone, Munchkin, etc), introduced to this world by my current husband.